Sniper
by Dem0nFl0wer
Summary: 1x2x1. Three years after the war with Marimeia, the gundam pilots are needed again to defeat a rising faction. This time, however, they will have to do so without the benefits of mobile suits.


Sniper  
Prologue

AC 190

Heero sat on the plastic train seat, shifting unconsciously. His feet hung just a few inches shy of touching the floor, swinging back and forth in just the slightest little movements. He gripped a small plastic bag in his right hand, careful not to let it drop to the floor or jar too much. It held, after all, an extremely volatile compound that would be needed once he met up with Odin again.

The train stopped at the next metro stop, doors sliding open with a quick chime. Heero looked up at the incoming people, not because he was interested, but because it broke the monotony of staring at the advertisement displayed directly across from him. His eyes took in their appearances, sorting and storing minute details in just a few seconds, when he happened to look past the herd to the crowd seated on the other side of the train car.

There was a boy sitting there. He was maybe Heero's age, dark brown hair pulled back from a heart-shaped face, cobalt blue eyes focused on the pages of a book. Without being aware of what he was doing, Heero hopped off of his seat and made his way closer to the boy, finding a seat maybe two yards away from him, right next to the door. At this distance Heero saw that the boy's hair was caked with dirt, lending it a darker than normal color, and he guessed that it might have been a chestnut or maybe a golden brown if it had been clean. It was pulled back at the nape of his neck and arranged in a braid, trailing down his back to rest beside him on the seat. He concentrated solely on the book, and after half an hour Heero realized he still had yet to turn the page. On closer inspection it seemed as though he were desperately trying to understand something indecipherable on those sheets of paper. Heero glanced down from the boy's face, noting the cover of the book: Haroun and the Sea of Stories. He wouldn't know it, but then literature wasn't a subject in which he was taught. Shakespeare and company weren't of any use to an assassin's apprentice. He looked back up, not surprised to find the boy's expression the same as when he had last seen it; really, the same as it had been 

since Heero had first seen it. Suddenly, the conductor announced the next stop, and the boy looked up, revealing a cherubic, if not immaculate, face, smudged with trails of dirt. Light from outside glistened off his eyes, and Heero realized that they were almost…amaryllis. To Heero's dismay the boy closed the book and jumped out of his seat, oversized sweater pooling around him. He was getting off the train.

Heero's eyes followed the boy as he stepped off the train to stand on the platform, and his body turned to better stare at the boy through the window. Then, just as the train was about to leave the station, the boy noticed Heero… and he winked.

January, AC 197

"I mean, it's not like we had much time to ourselves, what with the war going on and all. And sure, some times we partnered up to do things, and by the end of it we were pretty much working as a team, but it's not like that was quality time spent together…well, my point is, we didn't really get a chance to get to know each other, so…in answer to your question, I'd call us acquaintances, probably, not even friends."

Another round of bright lights flashed around the room, and Duo raised his arm somewhat to protect his eyes from the onslaught. Voices chorused around the room as a low incoherent and frenzied din, until he nodded to one of the reporters nearby.

"So you mean to say that you wouldn't consider any of the other Gundam pilots friends, after all you've been through together?"

"No, not really. I mean, maybe Quatre, but then that kid had a way of growing on you, and we spent a whole chunk of time together when there weren't any missions coming in."

A man near the back of the room shouted out something before the standard between-question commotion started up again. "Do you plan on keeping in contact with any of the other pilots?"

Duo lifted his water bottle to his lips, taking a drink to ease the dryness in his throat before continuing. "No, I don't."

"I'm sorry," interrupted a woman standing to the left of Duo on the platform, "but I'm afraid I'll have to end this portion of the press conference. If you'll wait five minutes, Relena Peacecraft will be out to release a statement and field any questions you may have."

Duo got up to a few groans from the crowd; it wasn't often they got a chance to question a Gundam pilot, and the material would make for a great human interest angle. However, things noticeably perked up at the mention of Relena's name, since it insured big news…but then, with Dekim Barton's faction just now defeated, most everything was 'big news'.

Duo started to leave the room, some photographers taking last-minute pictures. When he was halfway out the door he turned back, flashing them a victory sign and a disarming grin, resulting in more bright flashes and snapshots. He walked down the corridor, nursing his water bottle, intent on catching the first flight back to L2. He was just glad this war was finally over. He waved casually to Heero, who was leaning against the wall and had probably been watching the interview session.

"Ja ne, then, Heero," he called over his shoulder as he passed the other boy, "maybe we'll see each other around some time."

Heero stared at Duo's retreating back,  cringing internally… so Duo didn't remember.


End file.
